Published: November 21st, 2018 – March 27th, 2019
Written by: Tom Scioli
Art by: Tom Scioli
Based on: GoBots by Tonka

IDW Publishing, 169 Pages

Review:

I didn’t know what to think about a Go-Bots comic book when I first heard that this was coming out. Historically, even though they beat the Transformers to toy shelves in the ’80s, they were always seen as a cheap imitation. A lot of that probably just has to do with their television show and toys being of lesser quality but Tonka did bring this idea of vehicles transforming into robots to market first. Granted, both franchises took the idea from toys that were already popular in Japan.

Since their inception, the GoBots intellectual property rights have changed and now the franchise is owned by Hasbro and the GoBots find themselves under the same umbrella as Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., Micronauts and other properties. That being said, Hasbro has been using the comic book medium to tie their properties together into a shared universe, which is being done as a test before they eventually try this with motion pictures.

So it should be no surprise that the GoBots, now spelled Go-Bots, were given the comic book treatment by IDW, alongside Hasbro’s other big properties. This also ties into those other properties but to say anything more about that would be a bit too spoilery and I won’t ruin this because I think that people need to read Go-Bots and enjoy it, as I did.

The art and the story are done by Tom Scioli, a guy whose work I’ve really enjoyed in G.I. Joe Vs. Transformers and also in the issues of Godland that I’ve read, which is the most Jack Kirby-esque comic not done by Jack Kirby himself.

Scioli writes a solid, dynamic story that moves through great distances in time but it introduces several characters and spends enough time with them all to give them real character and weight.

I adore Scioli’s art style and it was perfect for this book, as it makes it truly feel like a throwback in a visual sense. Although, the writing is better than what the standard was for these toy property books back in the ’80s, when they were all too common and usually just rushed out to inspire kids to buy toys.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this comic so much that even though I want to talk about the plot, I’d rather people read it for themselves. Frankly, this is one of my favorite comics that IDW has put out in years. Actually, the best since the Chuck Dixon and Mike Costa era of their G.I. Joe books.

I sincerely hope that there is something in the works for future installments of Tom Scioli’s Go-Bots.

Rating: 8.25/10
Pairs well with: other Hasbro related comics from IDW, especially the Transformers stuff.